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Jones returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown on the first touch of the season for the Crimson Tide, then returned a kickoff 94 yards late in the first half to set off a 35-10 win over Virginia Tech in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game on Saturday.

Jones added a 38-yard touchdown grab in the third quarter to help put the game out of reach.

“It’s every kid’s dream to come in and have a game like that,” Jones said. “I’ve got 24 hours to celebrate then we’ll start preparing for Week 2.”

Jones’ punt return with 13:21 left in the first quarter caused an already-electric crowd to get even louder. His kickoff return in the second quarter helped spark a Crimson Tide squad that was spinning its wheels at that point in the game.

“We want our return game to be a weapon for us, and it certainly was tonight,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said.

The scores were needed, as the Alabama offense sputtered through most of the game with turnovers, miscommunication and uncharacteristically poor blocking up front. The Crimson Tide gained just 97 yards in the first half compared to 155 yards for Virginia Tech.

“We played well on special teams, but we’ve got a lot of work to do in cleaning up what we need to,” Saban said. “They are a good defensive team.”

For the game, Alabama had 206 yards while the Hokies gained 212.

“I thought we played really well on defense most of the night, other than the touchdown where we got out of position on a stunt,” Saban said.

“The guys up front did a great job tonight,” Virginia Tech quarterback Logan Thomas said. “We battled our tails off. We just have to correct some stuff.”

Jones totaled 256 all-purpose yards.

“The blocking scheme set up great for me tonight, and we could have even had a few more great returns,” Jones said. “My blockers did a great job.”

“If he keeps that up, he’ll be playing in the pros one day,” offensive lineman Anthony Steen said of Jones.

After each team exchanged punts following Jones’ first score, the Tide got the ball back midway though the first quarter and marched 49 yards in 12 plays, capped by a 2-yard scoring plunge by T.J. Yeldon with 1:53 left. Cade Foster’s extra point made it 14-0.

The Hokies showed their first sign of life on the ensuing possession when freshman running back Trey Edmunds burst through the line nearly untouched and outran the defense 77 yards for a touchdown with 1:37 to go in the first quarter. Cody Journell’s kick cut the deficit to 14-7.

Momentum quickly returned to Alabama, though. On the third play of the second quarter, Vinnie Sunseri jumped a slant route, intercepted a Thomas pass and returned it 38 yards for a Tide touchdown to push the lead to 21-7 with 14:04 left until halftime.

Halfway through the second quarter, Virginia Tech’s Kyle Fuller intercepted AJ McCarron, giving the Hokies the ball at the Alabama 34.

“The way our defense played was encouraging,” Fuller said. “We have room to grow and have the rest of the season to do so, but we played well.”

The Hokies managed one first down but no more, settling for Journell’s 39-yard field goal with 3:39 left in the half that made it 21-10.

Next came Jones’ kickoff return score, where he appeared to be stopped in his own territory, only to spin outside of several defenders and speed to the end zone to push the lead to 28-10 with 3:25 left until the break.

The third quarter was a punting duel until Jones returned a punt into Virginia Tech territory midway through the period. Four plays later, McCarron found Jones for the only passing touchdown of the night to make it 35-10 with 3:43 remaining in the third quarter.

“He (Jones) did a great job, helped us out tremendously,” McCarron said.

At that point, Bama fans began to breathe a bit easier, but not Saban.

“I don’t think there’s a guy in the locker room who is happy with how they played tonight,” he said.

McCarron passed for 110 yards on 10 of 23 throws with one touchdown and one interception. Yeldon led Alabama with 75 yards rushing on 17 carries. Amari Cooper caught four passes for 38 yards, but the normally sure-handed receiver also had a pair of drops.

Ed Stinson paced the Crimson Tide defense with eight tackles and got in on a sack.

“We celebrated a little bit, but it was quiet,” Steen said. “A win’s a win.”

Edmunds led all rushers with 132 yards on 20 attempts. Thomas accounted for 61 total yards.

“They’ve got some great athletes over there, especially in the front four,” Thomas said. “They’re a little bit of a different breed than anything we’ve seen.”

Jack Tyler had eight tackles and one sack for Virginia Tech.

Alabama has next week off before traveling to Texas A&M on Sept. 14 for a rematch of last season’s 29-24 Aggie win in Tuscaloosa.

<p>ATLANTA — Lost amid the hype about No. 1 Alabama's firepower coming into the season was junior wideout Christion Jones.</p><p>No more.</p><p>Jones returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown on the first touch of the season for the Crimson Tide, then returned a kickoff 94 yards late in the first half to set off a 35-10 win over Virginia Tech in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game on Saturday. </p><p>Jones added a 38-yard touchdown grab in the third quarter to help put the game out of reach.</p><p>“It's every kid's dream to come in and have a game like that,” Jones said. “I've got 24 hours to celebrate then we'll start preparing for Week 2.”</p><p>Jones' punt return with 13:21 left in the first quarter caused an already-electric crowd to get even louder. His kickoff return in the second quarter helped spark a Crimson Tide squad that was spinning its wheels at that point in the game.</p><p>“We want our return game to be a weapon for us, and it certainly was tonight,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said.</p><p>The scores were needed, as the Alabama offense sputtered through most of the game with turnovers, miscommunication and uncharacteristically poor blocking up front. The Crimson Tide gained just 97 yards in the first half compared to 155 yards for Virginia Tech.</p><p>“We played well on special teams, but we've got a lot of work to do in cleaning up what we need to,” Saban said. “They are a good defensive team.”</p><p>For the game, Alabama had 206 yards while the Hokies gained 212.</p><p>“I thought we played really well on defense most of the night, other than the touchdown where we got out of position on a stunt,” Saban said.</p><p>“The guys up front did a great job tonight,” Virginia Tech quarterback Logan Thomas said. “We battled our tails off. We just have to correct some stuff.”</p><p>Jones totaled 256 all-purpose yards.</p><p>“The blocking scheme set up great for me tonight, and we could have even had a few more great returns,” Jones said. “My blockers did a great job.”</p><p>“If he keeps that up, he'll be playing in the pros one day,” offensive lineman Anthony Steen said of Jones.</p><p>After each team exchanged punts following Jones' first score, the Tide got the ball back midway though the first quarter and marched 49 yards in 12 plays, capped by a 2-yard scoring plunge by T.J. Yeldon with 1:53 left. Cade Foster's extra point made it 14-0.</p><p>The Hokies showed their first sign of life on the ensuing possession when freshman running back Trey Edmunds burst through the line nearly untouched and outran the defense 77 yards for a touchdown with 1:37 to go in the first quarter. Cody Journell's kick cut the deficit to 14-7.</p><p>Momentum quickly returned to Alabama, though. On the third play of the second quarter, Vinnie Sunseri jumped a slant route, intercepted a Thomas pass and returned it 38 yards for a Tide touchdown to push the lead to 21-7 with 14:04 left until halftime.</p><p>Halfway through the second quarter, Virginia Tech's Kyle Fuller intercepted AJ McCarron, giving the Hokies the ball at the Alabama 34. </p><p>“The way our defense played was encouraging,” Fuller said. “We have room to grow and have the rest of the season to do so, but we played well.”</p><p>The Hokies managed one first down but no more, settling for Journell's 39-yard field goal with 3:39 left in the half that made it 21-10.</p><p>Next came Jones' kickoff return score, where he appeared to be stopped in his own territory, only to spin outside of several defenders and speed to the end zone to push the lead to 28-10 with 3:25 left until the break.</p><p>The third quarter was a punting duel until Jones returned a punt into Virginia Tech territory midway through the period. Four plays later, McCarron found Jones for the only passing touchdown of the night to make it 35-10 with 3:43 remaining in the third quarter.</p><p>“He (Jones) did a great job, helped us out tremendously,” McCarron said.</p><p>At that point, Bama fans began to breathe a bit easier, but not Saban.</p><p>“I don't think there's a guy in the locker room who is happy with how they played tonight,” he said.</p><p>McCarron passed for 110 yards on 10 of 23 throws with one touchdown and one interception. Yeldon led Alabama with 75 yards rushing on 17 carries. Amari Cooper caught four passes for 38 yards, but the normally sure-handed receiver also had a pair of drops.</p><p>Ed Stinson paced the Crimson Tide defense with eight tackles and got in on a sack.</p><p>“We celebrated a little bit, but it was quiet,” Steen said. “A win's a win.”</p><p>Edmunds led all rushers with 132 yards on 20 attempts. Thomas accounted for 61 total yards.</p><p>“They've got some great athletes over there, especially in the front four,” Thomas said. “They're a little bit of a different breed than anything we've seen.”</p><p>Jack Tyler had eight tackles and one sack for Virginia Tech.</p><p>Alabama has next week off before traveling to Texas A&M on Sept. 14 for a rematch of last season's 29-24 Aggie win in Tuscaloosa.</p>